Blog Roll

Dark Universe: Cosmic Microwave Background

Dark Universe, the Museum's new Hayden Planetarium Space Show, is produced by an acclaimed team, including curator and astrophysicist Mordecai-Mark Mac Low. An authority on how galaxies work, Dr. Mac Low in this video shares some mind-bending facts about the early universe and the story of the scientists who first heard the “echo of the Big Bang.”

What does the TV of your childhood reveal about the nature of the universe? Find out in a video about the cosmic microwave background.

For instance, did you know that the entire universe was once hotter than the surface of the Sun? What became of the light emitted by that hot universe? Here, Mac Low introduces viewers to the cosmic microwave background—energy left over from the Big Bang.

You can also learn more about the cosmic microwave background—sometimes called cosmic background radiation—inDark Universe.